Juan Cuadrado set to wear the no.23 shirt at Chelsea

Juan Cuadrado will wear the number 23 shirt at Chelsea following his £23 million move from Fiorentina.

The number 23 was formerly worn by Carlo Cudicini, Daniel Sturridge and Mark Schwarzer but Chelsea will be hoping the Colombian will impress and get more game time than his predecessors.

Cuadrado signed a four-and-a-half-year contract after just over five years in Italy and an impressive 2014 World Cup campaign with Colombia where he finished the tournament with one goal and four assists.

The Colombian has 37 international caps, scoring five goals. He worked well with James Rodriguez in the World Cup and Jose Mourinho will be hoping he can link up with the likes of Eden Hazard, Willan and Diego Costa at Stamford Bridge.

Cuadrado originally joined Udinese from Medellin in Columbia. After a loan spell at Leece, he moved to Fiorentina scoring 20 goals in 85 appearances in Serie A.

The new signing said: “I am very happy and thankful for this opportunity I’ve been given. This is a great club and honestly it is like a dream to join the Chelsea family and to know that the manager believes in me. I’m happy.”

Mourinho knew he would have to get rid of players to make room for the move so Mohamed Salah went the other way to Fiorentina on loan with Andre Schurrle heading to Wolfsburg for a fee of around £23m.

“I am very happy and thankful for this opportunity I’ve been given," - Juan Cuadrado

Therefore, Mourinho sold a player who did not have a future at the club in order to buy an in-form playmaker - not bad business from a Chelsea point of view.

The 26-year-old can play behind the striker or he is comfortable on either wing, making him a valuable addition to an already strong Blues squad.

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